Wednesday briefing: Can Macron and Starmer solve the small-boats crisis?

In today’s newsletter: As the French president arrives in the UK for a state visit, tackling migrant crossings in the Channel is top of the agenda

Good morning. Emmanuel Macron arrived in the UK yesterday for a three-day state visit. While the British royal family and political elite rolled out the red carpet for the French president, with all the expected pomp and pageantry, the real focus was, and remains, the politics behind the scenes. Top of the agenda: how Britain and France intend to deal with the small-boats crisis.

The UK has backed recent moves by French police to immobilise the inflatable boats used by people smugglers by slashing them. It’s not yet clear whether this was a one-off instance or part of the broader shift in strategy expected to be outlined soon by Keir Starmer and Macron.

Middle East crisis | Medical officials, humanitarian workers and doctors in Gaza say they have been overwhelmed by almost daily “mass casualty incidents” as they struggle to deal with those wounded by Israeli fire on Palestinians seeking aid.

Post Office | More than 13 people may have killed themselves as a result of the Post Office Horizon IT scandal, while it drove at least 59 more to contemplate suicide, according to the first findings from the public inquiry into what has been labelled the worst miscarriage of justice in UK history.

NHS | Resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, in England have voted in favour of strikes that could result in industrial action lasting until January next year, the British Medical Association has announced.

Crime | Thousands of defendants in England and Wales could lose the right to a jury trial under plans designed to save the criminal justice system from collapse.

UK News | Gregg Wallace has been sacked as MasterChef presenter ahead of a report into misconduct allegations, including claims, denied by Wallace, of groping and indecent exposure. Over 50 new complaints have since been made to the BBC.

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Palestinian who worked for EU in Gaza accuses Brussels of ‘abandoning’ him after office closed

Exclusive: Mohammed Baraka asks von der Leyen for help, saying he is stranded in Cairo without residency rights

A Palestinian man who worked for the EU in Gaza has appealed to the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, after the closure of his office left him in Cairo without a job or residency rights.

Mohammed Baraka, who served at the EU border assistance mission at Rafah in southern Gaza and was evacuated to Egypt when the war broke out, has accused Brussels officials of “coldly” dismissing him from his job by email and “abandoning” a loyal employee.

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Trump tariffs raise the specter of sharper economic downturn for South Korea and Japan – CNBC

  1. Trump tariffs raise the specter of sharper economic downturn for South Korea and Japan  CNBC
  2. Trump has delayed his monster tariffs. Here’s why you should care  CNN
  3. Trump’s trade blitz produces few deals but lots of uncertainty  The Hill
  4. Trump threatens 'no extensions' on new Aug. 1 tariff deadline, warns of higher import taxes  NBC News
  5. Confused about where things stand with Trump's tariffs? Here's a handy primer  NPR
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Air India jet’s fuel switches in focus, as crash preliminary report nears – Reuters

  1. Air India jet's fuel switches in focus, as crash preliminary report nears  Reuters
  2. Air India crash investigation focuses on movement of engine fuel control switches  The Air Current
  3. Toll of Air India disaster rests at 260 as focus turns to crash report  Yahoo
  4. India Set to Release Report on Deadly Air India Crash This Week  Bloomberg
  5. Boeing Stock Dips as Wait Drags on for Fatal 787 Air India Crash Report. What We Know.  Barron's
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USAID review raised ‘critical concerns’ over Gaza aid group days before $30 million US grant – CNN

  1. USAID review raised ‘critical concerns’ over Gaza aid group days before $30 million US grant  CNN
  2. Knives, bullets and thieves: the quest for food in Gaza  NPR
  3. US contractors say their colleagues are firing live ammo as Palestinians seek food in Gaza  AP News
  4. Foreseeable flaws in Gaza aid project led to shooting of Palestinians  The Washington Post
  5. GHF head Johnnie Moore slams UN over Gaza aid, helping Hamas  The Jerusalem Post
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Donald Trump’s ‘tariff wall’ takes shape around south-east Asia’s factories – Financial Times

  1. Donald Trump’s ‘tariff wall’ takes shape around south-east Asia’s factories  Financial Times
  2. ’Shock. Frustration. Anger.’ Trump’s tariff letters roil Asian allies  Politico
  3. Warburg Predicts Comparable US Tariffs Across Asean Countries  Bloomberg
  4. Malaysia calls for stronger inter-ASEAN trade amid tariffs uncertainty  Reuters
  5. Malaysia’s Anwar warns of weaponised trade as Trump’s tariffs loom  Al Jazeera
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Celebrity chef dismayed over recipe used by Australia’s mushroom killer – France 24

  1. Celebrity chef dismayed over recipe used by Australia's mushroom killer  France 24
  2. 'You did it': How doctor realised mushroom cook was a killer  BBC
  3. ‘Mushroom murder’ trial: Jury finds Australian woman deliberately killed lunch guests with poisoned Beef Wellington  CNN
  4. The mushroom poisoning trial captivated Australia. Why Erin Patterson did it remains a mystery  AP News
  5. The mushroom murders resemble an Agatha Christie plot – and film studios, publishers and streaming platforms know it  The Guardian
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’Shock. Frustration. Anger.’ Trump’s tariff letters roil Asian allies – Politico

  1. ’Shock. Frustration. Anger.’ Trump’s tariff letters roil Asian allies  Politico
  2. Malaysian PM warns Southeast Asia that trade war is not a ‘passing storm’  AP News
  3. Malaysia calls for stronger inter-ASEAN trade amid tariffs uncertainty  Reuters
  4. How Trump’s tariff threats could impact relationship between U.S. and Asian allies  PBS
  5. Donald Trump’s ‘tariff wall’ takes shape around south-east Asia’s factories  Financial Times
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Australia news live: Chalmers ‘urgently seeking more detail’ after Trump flags 200% pharmaceutical tariffs; head-on collision on Sydney Harbour Bridge

Treasurer says Trump’s tariff threats on foreign pharmaceuticals and copper ‘very concerning developments’. Follow the latest news live

Chalmers says millions of people were hoping for interest rate relief yesterday

Jim Chalmers says “there were millions of people who were hoping for more rate relief yesterday and didn’t get it”.

As per letters sent to various countries yesterday, in addition to letters that will be sent today, tomorrow, and for the next short period of time, TARIFFS WILL START BEING PAID ON AUGUST 1, 2025. There has been no change to this date, and there will be no change. In other words, all money will be due and payable starting AUGUST 1, 2025 - No extensions will be granted. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

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Trump Uses Cabinet Meeting to Vent About Epstein, Putin and Powell – The New York Times

  1. Trump Uses Cabinet Meeting to Vent About Epstein, Putin and Powell  The New York Times
  2. A Grandfather Clock, Windmills and Tariffs: Inside Trump’s Rollicking Cabinet Meeting  WSJ
  3. Fact check: Debunking 11 of Trump’s false claims at Cabinet meeting  CNN
  4. In Cabinet meeting, Trump takes a golden opportunity to talk interior decor  The Washington Post
  5. Trump talks tariffs, Russia, Iran at Cabinet meeting; Supreme Court allows mass federal layoffs  NBC News
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How do criminal courts work without juries around the world?

US defendants can waive right to jury trial and in Germany jury trials were abolished in 1924

One of the most significant recommendations in a review of the criminal courts in England and Wales, expected to be published this week, is likely to be the scrapping of jury trials for certain offences.

The idea in Sir Brian Leveson’s independent inquiry is that it will help reduce the record backlog in the courts. But for many the right to a jury trial, except for the most minor offences, is synonymous with the right to a fair trial and watering it down would be hugely controversial.

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